FUTURE BLINDNESS

Hello, here are some unedited recordings of the sounds made when Harlo and I play together—some of them start out pretty raw, but there are parts in each file that certainly merit attention. Let us know what you think!
cookie sandwich
improv 1
improv 2
improv 4
improv 5
improv 6
improv 7

I will be playing laptop and modified electronics tonight on SHARE TV in Cambridge—come on down to Prospect and Mass Ave or watch at home from 7pm to 8pm. There will also be a video by Greg Gagnon and a feature on the recent circuit bending workshop at DORKBOT.

I’m leaving Ambient earlier than I thought, much to my relief; the Hyperinstruments Group has asked me to start early (June 1) to get up to speed on Tod’s opera, which, I gather, has a lot to get done before the first performance in Monaco in September 2009.

Some of the modified electronics I’ve been working with have proven very satisfying, and I will post in more detail soon. Essentially, I am using Max/MSP to change the speed at which tape loops are played; the results are very interesting and, more important, consistent! Next up will be to incorporate a variable-length tape delay using an additional playhead and some servos. (PS, I am very excited about Max 5 but can’t yet afford it)

Thenji’s film will be premiering next week in NYC, and I’m still trying to work out the details so I can make it down. It’s showing with three other short films on Saturday May 10th at the Visual Arts Theater at 333 West 23rd Street. This is very exciting—it is a beautiful film and I am thrilled to see it get the attention it deserves. I may be doing more work with Thenji once she returns from Chad later this summer.

I bought Boxcutter’s first album, “Oneiric,” and I’m really enjoying it. I think it’s exactly what Burial was all hyped up to be, which is good because Burial is a waste of space if you ask me.

But then again, you didn’t—see you later hugs!

I finally, finally found the VHS of an old performance I did with Teresa Marrin Nakra last week, and have now safely converted it to a .mov.

The music itself isn’t the most awesome thing in the world, but I certainly am glad that proof of this exists…I really need something from this to put in my portfolio! As I try to write more thoughtfully about this project, it becomes clearer how much this served as an introduction to the world of physical computing and, in a sense, the process involved in working with emerging technology.

The carpet itself was very cool but a bit buggy. Factors like heat and prior use would seriously impact the consistency of the output, and it led to some frustrating but now-familiar debugging issues. Other things, like Teresa’s imminent pregnancy and my own unfamiliarity with the medium made this a frustrating project at the time. Thankfully, Tim Ledlie was around to handle the software side of the debugging and help me retain a sense of perspective.

We only had a week from start to finish to make our performances, and the title of mine (DON’T WORRY ABOUT ME, I’LL BE FINE) comes from the sampleset I was using at the time. Snips from Disney’s version of “Peter and the Wolf” and R+H’s “South Pacific” combined with pretty abstract (and, upon later reflection, boring) drum and toneloops to make an endless, atmospheric performance that did not go very many places.

I think the best thing about this project was finally getting to just play the damn carpet. I spent many, many hypercaffeinated hours before that night pressing on the thing and listening for trouble, and even watching it reminds me of what fun it was to make sounds with something so malleable and strange.